


Five Times Ondina Did Not Like Halloween

by mako_and_tails_and_stuff (ElfWhoLikesCookies)



Category: Mako Mermaids
Genre: 5+1 Things, Gen, Halloween, Multi, Ondina is the Halloween grinch, and is maybe definitely crushing on mimmi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfWhoLikesCookies/pseuds/mako_and_tails_and_stuff
Summary: ... And The One Time She DidIt's October and everyone's getting in the spirit of Halloween. Everyone except Ondina.
Relationships: Carly Morgan/ Cam Mitchell (implied), Ondina & Mimmi, Ondina/Mimmi, Rita Santos/Veridia, Zac Blakley & Cam Mitchell





	Five Times Ondina Did Not Like Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> Minor point - this involves the headcannon that Ondina is Veridia's daughter.

* * *

**1\. Pumpkin Carving**

"Why are we doing this again?" Ondina asked, staring at the display in front of her.

Some of the tables inside the Ocean cafe had been rearranged into a long table going along the side of the booth seats. The top of said table was scattered with half glasses of juice, large bowls and some vaguely roundish orange things.

Evie and Carly were sitting together at the table, an orange thing in front of each of them. Carly had the top of her's cut open and her entire hand inside the thing. She pulled out her hand clutching a mass of stringy orange stuff scattered with large teardrop shaped seed looking things.

Meanwhile Evie was stabbing the front of the whatever it was with a knife. She pulled the knife away and took out a triangular section of the thing. It was a soft orange on the inside, similar to some of the coral out by Mako.

"Because I said we'd help decorate the cafe for Halloween," Mimmi hooked her arm through Ondina's and dragged her over to the table.

"You made it!" Evie looked up as they approached, setting her knife at her side.

"Yup, told you I'd get her here," Mimmi said catching Ondina's eye with a devilish grin.

"Hey," Ondina lightly smacked Mimmi's shoulder.

"Get a room already," Carly said, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Or how about you both grab a pumpkin and help us gut and carve them," Evie said.

"Ew," Ondina said. Gutting and carving anything was not her idea of fun.

"It's not that bad," Carly assured. "It's fun."

* * *

As it turned out, it was bad. Very bad. And fun was the last word Ondina would use to describe the experience.

The inside of the pumpkins were cold and slimy and the stringy insides tangled around her fingers worse than any kelp had ever tangled her.

"Keep the seeds separate if you can," Carly said, "David likes to use them for recipes."

"You eat these things?" Ondina held up one of the seeds. How anyone could ever think to put in their mouth was beyond her.

"They're really nice, soak them in salt water then let them dry out - they're a great healthy snack," Evie said.

"Or crush them up and use them to crust fish. David does it with tilapia and it. Is. Amazing," Carly added, accentuating her point with a wave of her small carving knife.

"Why would you crust fish with seeds? Just eat it." Ondina dropped the seed into an empty bowl and returned to scooping out that horrid cold, damp, orange-ness.

"Not everyone likes raw fish Ondina," Evie said. "Some people are actually people - not Mermaids."

"For your information I don't always eat raw fish," Ondina pointed out, "I happen to be partial to cooked fish."

"You mean burned fish," Mimmi chimed in. "The last time you cooked fish you literally turned it black."

"It was supposed to be black. Land people have recipes for 'blackened' fish you know."

"Ondina I think by now you should just accept you can't cook and leave it at that," Carly said.

"Before you burn the house down preferably," Mimmi added, "I like having somewhere to live on land and I know Rita does too."

"I won't burn the house down," Ondina rolled her eyes. She'd only set something on fire once. And it was the oven's fault, she turned the ring off but it came back on. Nothing to do with her. Neither was the plastic wrapping that melted and caught on fire. She'd left it on the counter, not on the oven.

Ondina pulled out the last on the orange inside and dumped it into her bowl of the rest of the orange.

"Well this thing is clean - what now?"

"Clean another one," Carly said.

"Seriously?" Just doing one was bad enough, now she had to do more.

"Yup. I don't trust you carving them so you can clean them."

"I do amazing shell carvings for your information," Ondina pointed her finger at Carly.

Carly raised an eyebrow while Mimmi shook her head.

"Your carvings are bad Ondina. I love you and all but they're bad."

Ondina huffed and set her pumpkin aside.

"Here you go," Evie smiled brightly and handed her another, even bigger pumpkin.

"Thanks," Ondina said, sarcasm dripping from the single word.

"You're welcome!"

* * *

**2\. Shopping**

"Why is everyone so obsessed with Halloween?" Ondina asked as they passed yet another shop window with a gaudy display of orange and black with fake blood in the window. Cam had elected himself to go out and buy some more 'supplies' for the cafe, which meant Zac went to supervise, or more accurately join Cam in his nonsense, and Mimmi decided they too should go with them to 'experience more of the land traditions.'

Ondina had refused until Mimmi slipped her hand into Ondina's and flashed her wide eyes and a soft smile, the kind of smile Ondina could never resist, and so Ondina found herself tagging along down the busy street.

"It's a marketing ploy," Zac said, "and it's one of the top three holidays."

"I love the day after Halloween too, cause that's when they reduce all the sweets and I can gorge myself on sugary delights for only a fraction of the price," Cam added.

"Do you ever not think of your stomach?" Mimmi asked.

It was true, Cam was a very food-orientated person. The land boy was rarely seen without some sort of food item in his hand.

"Yes," Cam said indignantly. "When I'm sleeping I think of … other things."

"Please Cam, no more details," Zac said. "Come on, we've got a mission!"

Zac pulled open the door and held it open for them, Ondina followed Mimmi into the hellscape and Zac let the door swung shut with a thud.

The shop was easily the worst she'd ever been in. The wall at the back, visible from down the aisle they stood in was covered in fake faces made of rubber, and not all of them were human looking.

"Ooh they have a Plague doctor one!" Cam tried to shoot off down the aisle only for Zac to grab his collar.

"We get David's stuff first. Then we hunt for ourselves."

"Then we best get Dave's stuff as fast as we can."

"Top of the list is creepy cloth," Zac said, "whoever finds it first owes the other a dollar?"

"How about sweets instead?"

"Deal. Three, two, one - go!"

Zac and Cam shot off down the aisle, setting off a model of a woman with a skull face, black robes and pointy hat who shrieked at them. Cam shrieked back and leapt to the side, Zac taking advantage of Cam's momentary pause to take the lead.

"Asshole!" Cam ran down the last the aisle and disappeared around the corner.

Ondina trudged down the aisle, eyeing the model thing warily. The label on it's shoulder revealed it as a 'motion activated witch.' That thing wasn't a witch. Witches were -

"What do you think?"

Ondina broke her staring contest with the horrible 'witch' and found herself looking at a much, much prettier one. Mimmi had set a black pointy hat on her head, her dark curls falling loosely under it and her short blue dress only made her look cuter.

"Very scary," Cam said before Ondina could open her mouth. His arms were laden with packets of the so-called creepy cloth.

"Cam you absolute bastard!" Zac yelled up the aisle, orange glitter covered him. His shirt. His hair. His face.

"All is fair in Halloween wars!" Cam ran off past them, Zac giving chase. The glitter fell from him like rain, sparkling the air as it drifted down.

Mimmi had never looked prettier than in that moment.

* * *

**3\. It Spreads (Nowhere Is Safe)**

"Why?" Ondina moaned in exasperation as she walked into the living room at Rita's to be met with even more Halloween decorations sitting out on the table - a pumpkin ornament and three skulls that looked to be real from different land animals and a pile of stuff she didn't even want to concern.

"What are you complaining about now?" Rita asked,

"What is it with Halloween? Even Mimmi's becoming obsessed, she actually bought a costume to dress in."

She didn't mention how cute Mimmi had looked in it with a little smile and glitter falling over her. Zac had ruined the moment by dumping confetti over Cam and getting them all kicked out. Cam lead them to one of the massive supermarkets where they'd trolly glided down huge aisles and gotten everything they should have gotten from the first place plus some extras.

"It's fun," Rita shrugged.

"Not you too," Ondina threw herself dramatically onto the couch. She'd been counting on Rita to be the one normal person in all this. Her mistake. Everyone kept saying Halloween was fun, but she was yet to see it.

Trolley gliding had been fun.

Watching Zac slip and fall, getting trapped until his trolley had been fun.

Spending half an hour looking at the same section of decorations had not been fun.

Listening to Cam's protests when she refused to get a costume had not been fun.

"I like Halloween," Rita said. "It has interesting origins and traditions and I happen to be very fond of the sweets that come with it, and it can be fun dressing up, being someone different for a change."

Ondina looked up and scowled. She scrunched up her face and pouted in confusion as Rita stepped up onto the window ledge.

"What are you doing?" Ondina asked.

"Painting the window, Halloween style."

"The window does _not_ need painted," Ondina dropped her face back into the couch.

"I did tell her that, but you can see who won that argument."

Ondina sat up properly as Veridia came in. While her relationship with Veridia was now a lot less than formal, she still forced some respect for the Pod leader.

"It was a conversation," Rita said, "not an argument. Did you get the paint?"

Veridia held out a small tube of dark green paint.

"Thank you!" Rita took the paint, kissed Veridia's cheek and hopped back up on the window ledge.

"Everyone is too obsessed with Halloween," Ondina said, "I really don't get it."

"I will admit I don't understand it either," Veridia agreed, "but she likes it so I'm making an effort."

"It never hurts to make an effort Ondina," Rita said.

"I know what you're both getting at but it doesn't matter because there's no way Mimmi actually likes all this stuff, she just wants to know everything and Cam pushed her into it."

"Neither of us said anything about Mimmi," Rita pointed out, "you did."

"I -" Ondina scowled as her protest died on her tongue. She'd just assumed they meant Mimmi and got herself caught in a whirlpool.

"I was referring to you making an effort with your friends and letting them have their fun."

"I still think painting a window is stupid," Ondina shoved up her defences and stormed off.

* * *

**4\. The Halloween Spirit**

"There is so much to do!" Ondina flopped into the empty seat, the same one where she'd sat and cleaned out the disgusting insides of the pumpkins. Only this time instead of the table being covered in pumpkins, it was covered in bundles of lights, piles of cloth, sheets upon sheets of bloody handprint stickers and a whole load of other stuff Ondina couldn't care to look over.

"Then you better get started," David said, setting down a tray of drinks, "watermelon and ginger for everyone."

"Thanks mate," Cam took a glass, "got anything else to sweeten the deal?"

"Lift up the witches hat," David said.

Cam eagerly lifted the hat, revealing a bowl filled with fake eyeballs, "nice one, thanks man!" Cam grabbed a handful and dumped them on the table in front of them. Several began rolling around until Zac flashed out his hand and every one of them stopped in place.

"Okay so we need all the lights untangled then strung up over the windows, hand prints go on the windows to and then creepy cloth draped like curtains. If everyone starts with the lights we'll go from there," David directed, taking his own seat.

"That is so much work and for what? One night?"

"If you're just going to sit there and complain you'd be as well just leaving," Mimmi snapped.

Ondina stared in shock. Mimmi wouldn't meet her eyes and had directed her attention to untangling her roll of lights.

No one said anything. The air grew heavier as the silence crushed down. Ondina stood up and slipped out of her seat.

* * *

**5\. Making Up and Make Up**

Ondina would never admit it.

Ever.

But the painted window looked kind of cool. While she still thought painting windows was a not-so-smart idea, it was well done. Rita had painted the silhouette of a tree against the side of the window, an owl with orange and yellow eyes perched on one of the swirling branches.

The bottom of the window was a stretch of dark green and black, three dark grey gravestones coming part of the way up the window, a rotted hand bursting from the 'ground' by one of the stones.

Ondina made her way across the balcony and in through the sliding doors into the open living room. Rita was sitting at the - way too big for someone who lived alone - dining table, laptop open in front of her and a cup beside her, soft steam rising from it.

"The window looks good," Ondina said.

Rita looked up, her neutral expression unchanged, "thanks."

Mimmi must have told her what happened. Ondina had taken a rather long detour

"Did Veridia help you at all?"

Before she left Rita had been trying to convince the other Mermaid to help her with the painting. Ondina had left before it was resolved but had a sneaking suspicion who had 'won.'

"She did."

Her suspicion was right but still Ondina felt her stomach curl. She hated people being annoyed at her, and for what - not liking Halloween?

Rita turned back to her laptop and Ondina took a seat opposite her.

"I have no idea what to wear for the party tonight," Ondina said.

"And?" Rita asked, not looking up.

"Can you help me? Please?"

"No."

"You were the one who told me to make an effort, I'm trying to make an effort!"

"No," Rita looked up, "you've realised how horrible you were to everyone so you're trying to make it up."

"Is that really so wrong?" Ondina shrugged.

"Would've hurt less to have listened and made an effort to join in earlier. For everyone. I understand that you may not care about Halloween and that's fine. What isn't fine is you bringing everyone else down."

"I know that now." Ondina sunk into her seat. She'd hurt Mimmi, and annoyed everyone else. It wasn't a nice feeling. She hated hurting Mimmi.

Ondina sat for a second. She needed to say the right thing now. What was it people said - oh yeah...

"I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier," Ondina apologised, finally deciding on what to say. "I was rude and it was inexcusable."

"Your apologies are getting better."

"I'm sorry." Ondina slid down in her seat.

"I might have something you can wear for tonight."

* * *

"Stop moving."

"You're stabbing my eye!"

"Because you keep moving, just stay still."

Ondina huffed but did her best to stay still as Rita finished whatever she was doing with her eyes. How anything involving black liquid near her eyes was a good idea, she'd never know. If she hadn't just promised she would make more of an effort she might have said something but she'd turned over a new seaweed frond.

"Close your eyes," Rita instructed.

"Why?"

"Close them or this gets sprayed in your eyes," Rita took the lid off a small spray bottle.

Ondina closed her eyes, crinkling her nose as the light misting of the spray landed over her face.

"You're done."

Ondina spun around in the chair and stopped in front of the mirror.

Her eyes were dark.

Purple so dark it verged on black, blended out into a pinkish shade below her eyebrows. The black liquid stuff had been used to line her eyes on her top and bottom lid, a point of black coming down from the centre of the bottom of her eye. The same pink at her top lid was smudged around the black.

Her lips were a similar dark lined, far darker than anything she'd ever worn those few times Carly had convinced her to wear make up, lined in black with the little points coming from each side of her mouth. She liked it. Ondina smiled.

Then the finishing touch - a little skull and crossbones drawn onto her left cheekbone below the corner of her eye.

* * *

**+1 The Party**

Ondina stopped outside the door of the cafe and adjusted her skirt, the dark red ruffles had fallen out of place during the walk. She smoothed them back into place over the white underskirt that just poked out under the red.

The whole length stopped just above her knees with the rest of her leg bare until half way down her calf at the top of the boots Rita had given her with strict instructions not to damage them in anyway. They just looked like normal boots to her, they were much coarser than anything she'd worn and were quite heavy on her feet but they were pretty with red roses embroidered up the side.

Next she sorted the top. It was a very wide necked white shirt with weird sleeves that were meant to sit off her shoulders but one side had ridden up. Ondina pulled it down and brushed off a bit of dirt she swore she saw on the red waist corset.

Ondina took a deep breath, touched the fake sword at her hip, checking it was still there, and entered the cafe.

It was packed but she saw Mimmi straight away, dancing with Evie under the dimmed lights. Mimmi did make a very cute witch.

Mimmi caught her eye through the crowd and looked away again, slipping behind Evie and out of sight.

"You made it!" Cam threw his arm around Ondina's shoulder, shoving her off balance.

"Get off," Ondina roughly pushed Cam away. The land boy was dressed in torn brown rags with some sort of scruffy mask pulled up resting on top of his head. Around his eyes were all dark, large panda circles of black and his mouth the same. Only, while the dark around his eyes was still mostly in tact, the paint around his mouth was smudged halfway down his chin and across his cheek.

"Wasn't expecting to see you," Carly said. In the dim she seemed to materialize from nowhere like that a Mermaid dropping invisibility. If it wasn't for her voice Ondina wouldn't have recognised her - her usual blonde hair and tanned complexion was replaced with two black braids and pale skin.

"Yeah you were kinda a dick earlier," Cam nodded. And kept nodding until Carly lightly smacked his shoulder. Cam blinked in surprise before wandering off.

"Just because I don't like Halloween - " Ondina began watching Cam slink up to Zac and the pair take a drink from a small silver container Zac took from under his cloak.

"It's not about liking," Carly said, "your friends were happy and excited about something and you just sat there and complained. You don't do that to people you care about."

"I heard it all from Rita earlier, and I'm here now aren't I?"

"What haven't you done?" Carly raised an eyebrow.

"I know, I know," Ondina sighed and rolled her eyes, "where's Mimmi gone?"

"She went outside."

"Thanks. What are you supposed to be anyway?" She really had no idea what Carly, or most of the people, were dressed as except for those dressed as skeletons. Apart from that she had no clue.

Along with the black hair, Carly wore a short black dress with white collar smudged in black.

"I'm Wednesday Addams."

Ondina shook her head, "no clue."

"The Addams Family? Ever seen it?"

"Nope, sorry," Ondina shook her head again.

"You have to watch it, it's a classic."

"I won't."

Movies really weren't her thing.

* * *

The soft sea air and still night was miles away from the bustling party inside. Mimmi stood at the railing looking out over the ocean, the Moon's light reflecting off the point of her witch hat.

Ondina took a breath and walked over, the soles of her boots made hardly a sound on the wooden deck. Until she scuffed the toe on a plank of wood slightly higher than the rest and tripped, smacking down onto the deck with a curse.

"Ondina! Are you okay?"

Mimmi's arm was around her before Ondina could even lift her head, helping her up to her feet. Her knees hurt. Her arm hurt. Her face hurt.

"I hurt."

Ondina leaned again Mimmi, just for a second, before balancing herself.

"What happened?"

"I tripped in these ridiculous boots," Ondina kicked out one foot, the action sending spikes of pain from her knee.

"Where did you even get those?" Mimmi studied the boots, that were definitely not Ondina's style.

"Rita let me borrow them. Look Mimmi, I'm sorry for earlier. You and everyone else were having a good time and I was just being -"

"Yourself," Mimmi interrupted.

"I'm sorry Mimmi," Ondina apologised.

"You've got something on your face," Mimmi brushed Ondina's cheek with her fingertips.

"Skull and crossbones," Ondina whispered. Her voice caught in her throat under Mimmi's touch.

"The other side. I know what a skull and crossbones is."

"Oh. Right."

Mimmi laughed and stepped back and Ondina melted inside. She had a nice laugh.

"I wanted to do this with you Ondina. I thought it was something fun we could do together."

"I know… I really am sorry. I should've made more of an effort, for you."

"For me?"

"I like it when you're happy," Ondina shrugged and looked out over the Sea, avoiding Mimmi's eyes.

"If only everyone could see this side of Ondina."

"No way," Ondina said. "I have a reputation you know."

"I know. But even the iciest people can have a warm side, look at Veridia."

That was true. Veridia was the coldest person she'd ever met, yet there were times - rare times as far as Ondina could see - that she was warmer, kinder than even Mimmi. She was more like her mother than she cared to admit.

"I'm my mother's daughter."

Mimmi laughed again.

"Do you want to go back inside?" Ondina asked. The lapping of the waves and Mimmi's company was far preferable to the loud music and tons of people in weird outfits but if Mimmi wanted to party, she'd go back in and face it all.

"Sure, I'd like that," Mimmi slipped her hand into Ondina's, and pulled her back across the decking towards the cafe.

"Watch your feet, don't want you to trip again."

"You're so funny."

"I know," Mimmi grinned and stepped in to kiss Ondina's cheek.

Maybe she could change her mind about Halloween. Maybe.


End file.
